Chapter 159: Chapter 159: First Treatment

Having struck a deal with Yu Menghan, Li Ping began the first treatment for the Seven-Color Illusory Light Butterfly sealed within the Celestial Profound Crystal.

He smiled at Yu Menghan. "Fairy Yu, I’m not accustomed to having an audience while I perform a treatment. Could I trouble you to wait outside for a little while?"

Hearing this, Yu Menghan clearly hesitated.

But she quickly replied with a grin, "Don’t you worry, Fellow Daoist Li. I am no Physician; I won’t steal your unique techniques."

Evidently, the Seven-Color Illusory Light Butterfly was extremely important to her, so she didn’t feel safe leaving it alone with Li Ping.

Before Li Ping could speak again, Yu Menghan took a spotless Jade Bottle from her Storage Bag, placed it on the table, and said with a wheedling smile, "To show my sincerity, I will give this Foundation Establishment Pill to you in advance, Fellow Daoist Li. Please, just let me stay and watch. I promise I won’t interfere with your treatment at all."

"Oh? A Foundation Establishment Pill." Li Ping reached for the jade bottle on the table, removed the stopper, and examined it carefully.

With his skill as a Tier Three Alchemist, he could easily recognize that the bottle indeed contained a genuine Foundation Establishment Pill.

After confirming it was authentic, he put the Foundation Establishment Pill away and said with a smile, "Since Fairy Yu is willing to pay in advance, then I won’t be polite."

In truth, he didn’t really care if someone watched. After all, his real secret weapon was his Nourishing Life Skill Power, something no one could learn just by observing.

His reason for asking Yu Menghan to leave was simply to maintain the air of a lofty expert.

Now that Yu Menghan was willing to pay him upfront just to watch, he figured he might as well let her. ’If she wants to watch, let her watch.’

Hearing his consent, Yu Menghan also smiled. Her tactic of ’smashing people with Spirit Stones’ had never once failed her.

Sure enough, in the next moment, she heard Li Ping speak again.

"I accept your sincere offer, Fairy Yu. I will now begin treating your Spirit Beast. During this process, I must ask you to remain silent," Li Ping said flatly.

Yu Menghan’s eyes crinkled into a smile. "I understand, Fellow Daoist Li. You can rest assured."

Then, under her watchful gaze.

Li Ping placed his right palm on the Celestial Profound Crystal and began to carefully sense what was inside.

Through his senses, he perceived that the strange insect sealed within the crystal had its blood almost completely stagnant, submerged in a deathly stillness.

It was only when his Divine Sense passed through the outer layer of the Celestial Profound Crystal and merged with its body that he could detect an almost imperceptible life fluctuation.

Moreover, the strange insect had absolutely no reaction to his Divine Sense probe, much like a Plant Demon.

’I wonder what this Fairy Yu encountered to cause the Seven-Color Illusory Light Butterfly to be so grievously injured,’ Li Ping silently mused.

After assessing the situation, he began to slowly infuse a faint stream of Nourishing Life Skill Power into the insect’s body to treat it.

The insect was on the verge of death. Even when replenishing its Origin, infusing too much Nourishing Life Skill Power at once could cause it to be overwhelmed by the nourishment, leading to unforeseeable consequences.

Therefore, Li Ping was extremely careful, injecting just a single wisp of Nourishing Life Skill Power.

"Hmm?"

Li Ping frowned. He sensed that after his Magical Power entered the Seven-Color Illusory Light Butterfly’s body, the strange insect didn’t actively absorb the unique life force contained within the Nourishing Life Skill Power.

He recalled that the Desolate Fire Sparrow had gulped down the Nourishing Life Skill Power he had sent over in one go, even constantly crying out, ’Hungry, hungry!’

’Is it really this weak? No wonder Fairy Yu went through so much trouble to find me. Other Physicians probably wouldn’t even dare to attempt a treatment,’ Li Ping thought, shaking his head internally.

Fortunately, the Nourishing Life Skill Power was truly miraculous. Even though the Seven-Color Illusory Light Butterfly didn’t actively absorb it, the power still seeped into its body like a spring rain nourishing the earth, replenishing its faint life force.

One hour later, he noticed that the infused Nourishing Life Skill Power had completely dissipated.

Li Ping once again sent in another wisp of Nourishing Life Skill Power. The Seven-Color Illusory Light Butterfly remained unconscious, only passively receiving the nourishment.

...

「Two hours later.」

Li Ping, drenched in sweat, lifted his hand from the Celestial Profound Crystal and gestured for Yu Menghan to inspect the Seven-Color Illusory Light Butterfly’s condition.

Seeing him looking as if his Primordial Energy was severely depleted, Yu Menghan quickly thanked him before sending her Divine Sense through the Celestial Profound Crystal to check on the Seven-Color Illusory Light Butterfly.

The moment she checked, her face lit up with joy.

Compared to before, the Seven-Color Illusory Light Butterfly’s life aura was now noticeably stronger.

Although it was still far from recovery and couldn’t even be said to be out of mortal danger... it was definitely improving.

She had really found the right person this time.

At this thought, the way she looked at Li Ping changed slightly. She took a Jade Bottle from her Storage Bag and placed it on the table. "Fellow Daoist Li, this is a bottle of Purifying Divine Water. It can help a Cultivator replenish their energy and nourish their spirit. Please accept it as a small token of my gratitude."

"Purifying Divine Water?" Li Ping nodded slightly. "Then I thank you for your kindness, Fairy. By the way, please come see me for the next treatment next month."

"No problem."

...

After Yu Menghan left, Li Ping sat in his training room with a serene expression, showing no sign of the severe exhaustion he had displayed just moments before.

In reality, he had only injected a total of four wisps of Nourishing Life Skill Power into the Seven-Color Illusory Light Butterfly. The total amount was roughly... equivalent to casting a single Fireball Technique.

The reason he had pretended to be so drained...

...was firstly, to show Yu Menghan how difficult the treatment was, making her feel her payment was well worth it.

And secondly, it was to play it safe. He didn’t want to expose the heaven-defying nature of his Nourishing Life Skill Power.

This was also why he had proposed a ten-year treatment plan to Yu Menghan—mainly to conceal the extraordinary healing capabilities of his Nourishing Life Skill Power.

After all, given the severity of the Seven-Color Illusory Light Butterfly’s injuries, it was likely that not even a Tier Three Physician would have a solution. If he were to heal it easily, it would be far too shocking.

Besides, this Fairy Yu was clearly a person of significant background.

If she witnessed the full extent of Li Ping’s healing abilities, there was no guarantee she wouldn’t get some other ideas.

’Never intend to harm others, but always be on guard.’

That’s why Li Ping deliberately stretched the treatment process out to ten years, dividing it into over a hundred sessions. That way, it wouldn’t be too conspicuous.

It’s like a writer posting 100,000 words a day versus 100,000 words a month—two completely different concepts.

Posting 100,000 words a day would be astonishing, but 100,000 words a month is hardly worth mentioning.

Healing the Seven-Color Illusory Light Butterfly’s injuries over ten years, while still demonstrating great skill, wouldn’t attract covetous attention.

"Purifying Divine Water." Li Ping placed the Jade Bottle in front of him, studying the milky-white liquid inside with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Purifying Divine Water was a rare Tier Two Spirit Liquid used to nourish the spirit and calm the soul. Its value was no less than a bottle of Peiyuan Pills.

For Yu Menghan to just give it to him showed that she was a rich woman—and an even more ’fragrant’ one than Xiao Yunzhi, at that. Worthy of a deeper friendship.

...

Every month after that, Yu Menghan would take the initiative to visit Li Ping on Immortal Peach Mountain for the Seven-Color Illusory Light Butterfly’s treatment.

After every session, Li Ping would look utterly drained and drenched in sweat, while the Seven-Color Illusory Light Butterfly’s aura grew steadily, albeit faintly, stronger.

Naturally, Yu Menghan was overjoyed by this.

Moreover, she seemed to feel rather guilty about Li Ping depleting his Primordial Energy to treat the butterfly. After each session, she would give him precious Spiritual Objects that could replenish his energy, such as Purifying Divine Water or Qi Spirit Fruit.

Li Ping, of course, accepted them without hesitation.

’I don’t need them, but I can sell them.’

Besides, these Spiritual Objects tasted pretty good when eaten as drinks and fruits.

...

At the end of that year, Qi Hanmo, who had been away from the Immortal City for nearly twenty years, finally had time to return.

The first thing he did upon arriving in the Immortal City was to hurry to Immortal Peach Mountain, travel-worn, to pay his respects to Li Ping.

"Big Brother!" Qi Hanmo called out eagerly the moment he saw him.

Li Ping smiled and nodded, observing the changes in Qi Hanmo at the same time.

His fifth brother was still dressed in a white robe with flowing sleeves, and his appearance hadn’t changed much.

The only thing that surprised Li Ping was that he had grown a beard, perhaps influenced by the customs over at Jixia.

The beard also made him look more mature and dependable.

"You’re back." Li Ping gestured for him to sit down in the pavilion.

The two began to talk about their experiences over the years—though, of course, it was mainly Qi Hanmo talking and Li Ping listening.

After all, he had spent the last twenty years in arduous cultivation on Immortal Peach Mountain, rarely even leaving the city. His life had been quite dull.

Qi Hanmo’s experiences, on the other hand, were very exciting.

Treating injured Cultivators in the Yuan Kingdom, participating in great battles, protecting the supply lines...

During that time, he had also encountered danger several times. If it weren’t for his good luck, plus the several Treasures his master had given him, he might have been killed on the spot.

Li Ping nodded repeatedly as he listened.

Finally, Qi Hanmo said with a sigh of emotion, "Fortunately, not long ago, the four sects of the Demon Dao could no longer withstand the casualties and chose to withdraw from the Yuan Kingdom. The great war is finally over."

In fact, it was precisely because the war had ended that he had the time to come back.

"The war is over?" Hearing this, a smile also appeared on Li Ping’s face.

As a Gou Cultivator, the thing he hated most was an unstable environment.

After all, in an unstable environment, it was impossible for him to lay low.

A generally peaceful environment was what suited his development.

For him, it was best if both sides just behaved themselves and never went to war, allowing him to develop all the way to the Core Formation Stage.

"Yes," Qi Hanmo nodded. "The four sects of the Demon Dao suffered heavy losses this time. Perhaps things will be quiet for a while."

What he didn’t say was that the Daoist Guardian Alliance’s losses were no less than those of the four Demon Dao sects. However, the Daoist Guardian Alliance occupied a wider territory and had more Cultivators under its command.

When it came to a contest of attrition, their ability to withstand losses was greater than that of the four Demon Dao sects.

Furthermore, the Daoist Guardian Alliance had the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm, which allowed them to continuously cultivate new Foundation Establishment Cultivators. This was another advantage the four Demon Dao sects couldn’t match.

"Hanmo, I’ll have someone notify Zhang Tie, Gumu Sheng, Cheng Yao, Bai Qing, and the others..." Li Ping did a quick calculation on his fingers; the end of the year was about a month away. He then continued, "Let’s do it on New Year’s Eve. We’ll have another reunion!"

Qi Hanmo nodded in agreement. "Alright, Big Brother. As it happens, I also have some personal matters to attend to during this time."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.